Sterile disposable plastic prefilled syringe



April 30, 1968 w. H. ADELBERGER STEIRILE DISPOSABLE PLASTIC PREF'ILLEDSYRINGE Filed May 10, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORN EY.

mm mm INVENTOR. WILLIAM H. ADELBERGER Il Il Il Il l.

Il l

April 30, 196s w. H. ADELBERGER 3,380,450

STEHILE DISPOSABLE PLASTIC PREF'ILLED SYRINGE Filed May l0, 1965 2Sheets-$heetl 'i WILLIAM H. ADELBERGER '3E/4%@ ATTORNEY.

United States Patent O 3,380,450 STERILE DISPOSABLE PLASTIC PREFILLEDSYRINGE William H. Adelberger, Coral Gables, Fla. (3823 Shannon Road,Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118) Filed May 10, 1965, Ser. No. 454,618 10Claims. (Cl. 12S-218) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention is inthe art of sterile hypodermic injection devices which are prefilled at acentral source of supply by a wholesale drug manufacturer, for example,and delivered to the ultimate user, such as doctors, dentists, medics,and others. After the sealed in medication contained in the ampule isused for injection, including `an aspiration action when desired, theentire device may be thrown away since it is made of relativelyinexpensive material. Means are provided for the use and sheathing ofmultiple lengths of needles, easy disposal of the thumb ring, when notdesired, and other advantages are clearly set out in the followingdetailed objects, descriptive specilication and related patent drawings.

This invention relates to hypodermic injection devices and, moreparticularly, to disposable plastic syringes which are adapted to befurnished preflled and sealed as sterile units which may be stored untilused and then discarded.

Previous attempts have been made to provide a single dosage disposablehypodermic syringe including an ampule containing the liquid solution ofmedication for a hypodermic injection, and a steel cannula or needleplunger and other parts, all of which is disposable after the medicationin the ampule has been injected.

This invention provides many improvements in such generally relatedprior art devices, which improvements are novel, useful and have manyadvantages and desirable characteristics not contained nor disclosed inany previously known structures.

It is the principle of this invention to provide an improved disposablepreloaded hypodermic syringe means t functionally vary the effectivelength of the needle and to provide novel means to select the particularlength of needle desired to be used.

Another object of this invention is to provide novel dual sheathingmeans for protecting the needle of the syringe throughout its length andsealing and maintaining it in sterile condition from the time of loadingthe syringe and sterilizing it until used.

A further object is to provide novel assembly and coupling means for thedual length sheathing and sterile sealing device of this invention.

A still further object is to provide novel means of opening the sealedliquid medication ampule for ilow through the needle when ready to usewhich is efficient, inexpensive to manufacture, positive in operationand facile in use.

Yet another object of this invention is the inclusion of a functionallyand structurally improved and completely novel arrangement of a thumbring in a disposable hypodermic syringe, which is associated with theplunger of the syringe and used to perform an aspirating action whendesirable, which permits retraction of the plunger in a controlledtwo-way fashion.

Another object is to provide a novel thumb ring connection with theplunger which may be easily removed from the assembly to convert thedisposable two-way syringe into a palm rest push type plunger injectiontype syringe, as desired.

Patented Apr. 30, 1968 ICC These and many other objects and advantagesof the present invention will become readily apparent from the followingdetailed description of one form thereof illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

FIGURE l is a longitudinally extending cross-sectional View of thecomplete hypodermic syringe illustrating its appearance when it ispreloaded with liquid medication sealed therein, sterilized, and readyfor storage and subsequent use;

FIGURE 2 is a similar longitudinal cross-sectional view of the syringeshown in FIGURE l, but illustrating the relative position on the partsafter the needle retaining base has been moved rearwardly to puncturethe seal and permit the liquid medication to ow into the hollowhypodermic needle, step one of the operation;

FIGURE 3 is another longitudinal cross-sectional view of the syringe,similar to FIGURES 1 and 2, but illustrating the relative position ofthe parts when the outer end of the two-part protective sheath has beenremoved to expose the outer end portion of the needle and the plungerhas been pushed completely inwardly and the medication expelled from thesyringe, step two of the operation;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal cross-section of the end portionof the syringe, as shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, but illustrating therelation of the parts when the inner end of the two-part protectivesheath has also been removed to expose a greater length of the needle;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 5 5 of FIGURE 1 inthe directions indicated by the arrows;

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of FIGURE 5 inthe direction indicated by the arrows;

FIGURE 7 is a longitudinally extending cross-sectional view of amodified form of the hypodermic syringe similar to FIGURE l, butdisclosing an alternative sealing means which comprises a slide gatevalve, shown in closed position;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged fragmentary top elevation of the sheathed needleend of the syringe illustrated in FIGURE 7, illustrating in explodedposition a horseshoe washer detail for locking said slide gate valvesealing means in closed position;

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged detail cross-section of the slide gate valveseal of FIGURE 7 in open position to permit passage of liquid medicationto the hollow hypodermic needle;

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged cross-section taken on line 10-10 of FIGURE 7in the direction indicated by the arrows of the slide gate valve shownin closed liquid sealing position;

FIGURE ll is an enlarged cross-section taken on the line 11-11 of FIGURE9 in the direction indicated by the arrows of the slide gate valve shownin open flowthrough position;

FIGURE 12 is an enlarged detail fragmentary crosssection view taken online 12-12 of FIGURE 9 in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 13 is an enlarged detail fragmentary crosssection of a slightlymodified slide gate valve which may be of resilient compressihlematerial, and

FIGURE 14 is a cross-section taken on line 14-14 of FIGURE 13 in thedirection of the arrows.

Referring now in detail to the drawings in which like characters ofreference refer to like parts throughout the several views, there isillustrated in FIGURE l in longitudinal cross-section, a hypodermicdisposable syringe numbered 20 in general.

It may be made of plastic, or any desirable inexpensive material,preferably molded. It is contemplated that the syringe, indicatedgenerally by numeral 20, including a lcylindrical liquid medicationcontaining barrel 21, a discharge plunger shaft 22, slidable needle base23 in general, long needle hub 24, having longitudinal liquid passagebore 25, and a two-part needle sheath 26 and 27, and other parts, mayall be molded of inexpensive plastic material and that the entiresyringe will be disposed of and thrown away after one use or singleinjection has been made.

A conventional hollow bored hypodermic needle 30, of stainless steel orother material, which is of any desired gauge, bore and length, ispermanently fixed in the slidable hub 23, as shown in FIGURES l, 2, 3and 4, by the molding operation or the use of a suitable adhesive or inany other manner. Needle 30 is in alignment with the longitudinallyextending liquid passage bore of short needle hub 55 and adapted toreceive, pass and discharge the liquid medication contained in barrel 21in the conventional well-known manner.

A membrane seal 35, which may be of aluminum foil or any other suitableeasily ruptured material 15, is fixed at the needle end of thecylindrical barrel 21, or the membrane may be cast integrally therewithin a leakproof manner to prevent egress of the liquid medicationcontained in barrel 21.

Adjacent the opposite end of barrel 21 the inner end of the plunger 22is tipped by a resilient piston head member 36 and is arranged duringassembly of the preloaded disposable syringe in the position shown inFIGURE l. Head member 36 may be of rubber or other compressible materialand has an outside diameter closely equalling the inside diameter ofbarrel 21, but snugly slidable in the barrel 21.

The resilient compressible piston head member 36 is radially outwardlyfianged at 37 to expand and engage the inner cylindrical surface ofcontainer cylinder 21 at all times to provide a leak-proof seal andprevent egress of the liquid medication at the plunger end. An annularinwardly extending fiange member 38 is formed adjacent the outer end ofbarrel 21 which serves as a stop, preventing outward withdrawal ofplunger piston head member 36 when the device is assembled. The stop 38may assume any form.

It is thus apparent that any kind of liquid medication or narcotic maybe pre-loaded into barrel 21 at the point of assembly and that it willremain effectively sealed within barrel 21 between head member 36 at theouter end of barrel 21 and the inner sealing membrane 35.

It is to be noted that the outer end of the cylindrical barrel 21 isflanged radially outwardly at 40 and 41 forming a finger rest groove 42therebetween. In use, the first, or index, finger and second linger ofthe operator will be placed in groove 42 to grip and hold the syringe 20when using it. The extreme outer end of plunger 22 has molded integrallytherewith a thumb ring 45 and an annular or other shaped palm rest 46.

The thumb ring 45 is joined to palm rest portion 46 of plunger 22 by arelatively small connecting member 47 at the bottom of a recess 48 inpalm rest 46. The reduced cross-sectional area of member 47 permits easybreaking away of the thumb ring 45 when desired. The connecting member47 is preferably tapered inwardly toward the bottom of recess 48. Thiswill insure the fracture point to be well within recess 48 so that anyprojecting broken plastic edges will not injure the operator when usingpalm rest 46.

At this juncture the utility of this particular novel arrangement shouldbe noted.

If the operator desires to use the plastic disposable syringe of thisinvention as an aspirator, he merely inserts his thumb in ring 45 andproceeds to follow the wellknown aspirating technique. If the operatordoes not wish to employ the aspirating principle and, therefore, doesnot need thumb ring 45, he firmly grasps syringe 20 and snaps off thering by fracturing connecting member 47. The hypodermic syringe is thenused for straight injection of the liquid medication contained in barrel21 through needle 30 by exerting inward pushing pressure against palmrest 46. FIGURE 3 illustrates the palm rest 46 with thumb ring 45 brokenaway.

This novel means of providing a dual function of thumb ring aspiratortype syringe and push type palm rest injection syringe in one pre-loadedsterile disposable plastic device has many important advantages.

The novel structure and arrangement of parts which provides the utilityof both a long needle and a short needle in a single sterile preloadeddisposable plastic syringe is of great importance and has manyadvantages. It comprises the two-part needle sheath 26-27. The outer endportion of slidable needle base 23 is reduced in diameter at 24 to forma hub upon which inner needle sheath 26 is removably and telescopicallymounted. A tight friction fit between the outer diameter of plasticneedle sheath 26 is provided as shown in the drawings. Sheath 26 has acentral bore 52 through which the hypodermic needle 30 passes.

The outer diameter of inner needle sheath 26 is reduced at 55 to form ahub upon which the outer needle sheath 27 is removably telescopicallymounted. A tight friction fit between the outer diameter of plastic hub55 of inner needle sheath 26 and the inner diameter of outer needlesheath 27 is provided as shown. Sheath 27 forms a hollow elongatedprotective cover for hypodermic needle 30 and is closed at its extremeend.

The assembly and operation of the sterile disposable pre-loaded plasticsyringe of this invention is as follows:

The barrel 21 is filled with the desired liquid medication under maximumsterile conditions after all of the struc tural elements have beencompletely sterilized. The tipped piston head 36 of plunger 22 with itsradially outwardly extending compressible flanges 37 closes and sealsthe outer end of barrel 21. Membrane 35 which is of any well-known foiltype, such as aluminum foil, tin foil, or a film of Saran, orCel-O-Seal, or other material, seals the other end of `barrel 21.Membrane 35 may be cast and molded integrally with barrel 21 if desired.Thus, the liquid medication, or opiate, will be maintained in sterilecondition from the time the cylindrical barrel 21 of the plasticdisposable syringe is filled or pre-loaded at the pharmaceuticallaboratory, or other place of manufacture, until used. The stop 38 onthe plunger operating end of syringe 20 prevents withdrawal of plungershaft 22 from the syringe.

Slidable needle base 23, in which needle 30 is suitably embedded in apermanent fixed leakproof manner, comprises an outer cylindrical shellor sheath 60 which surrounds .a reduced cylindrical hub 61 formed at thedischarge end of cylindrical barrel 21. (Right end as viewed in FIGURESl, 2 and 3 of the drawings.) Shell 60 is adapted t0 slide inwardlytowards the barrel 21 on hub 61, but is restrained from such movement bya spot heat sealing operation temporarily and lightly connecting shell60 and hub 61, as at 62 in the drawings Any other conventional breakawaymethod of lightly joining slidable shell 60 and hub 61 may be employed.An inner portion of the needle base 23 comprising an elongatedcylindrical projectile-shaped member 65 is located within the dischargeend of barrel 21 adjacent membrane seal 35 and in alignment therewith.

When the operator desires to use the syringe 20 his first step is toslide needle base 23 horizontally towards the seal 35. (To the left asshown in the drawings.) This is accomplished by applying the amount ofenergy necessary to break the heat sealed spot connection at 62 betweenneedle base 23 which lightly joins the outer shell 60 to hub 61. Thisconnection is to be arranged to rupture under light pressure and thusthe inner end of member 65 will puncture or tear membrane foil seal 35open and release the liquid medication and permit it to be ejectedthrough aperture 25 in needle base 23 and the hollow hypodermic needle30 upon .advancing plunger shaft 22 and its resilient head 36.

If the operator desires to use a long needle, he removes sheaths 26 and27 simultaneously by simply pulling olf sheath 26 which is held in itsnested telescopic position through its snug frictional fit on hub 24.This action exposes the needle 30 throughout its entire length from itspointed tip to the outer end of needle base 23 in which it is xedlymounted.

If the operator desires to use a short needle, he removes only the outersheath 27 from the hub 61 on which it is frictionally mounted. In thissituation needle 30 will only be exposed from the outer end of sheath 26to the needle point. Sheath 26 will continue to cover part of needle 30resulting in operative effect on a shorter needle.

The advantages of the disposable prelled plastic syringe of thisinvention are manyfold. They eliminate the necessity of assemblingvarious component parts at the point of use. The syringe is pre-filled,pre-sterilized and entirely disposable after use. It provides a positiveaspiration, positive view of the aspiration area. The lightweight of theplastic syringe results in increased tactile sense. An easy instantchoice of a long or short needle in a single device is a time savingadvantage and also cuts the inventory necessary to meet requirements asto lengths in half. Patient apprehension is reduced due to absence ofthe conventional glass vand metallic syringes new in popular use.Possibility of injury to the patient or operator by shattered glass isentirely eliminated because of all plastic construction. Storage andinventory problems of currently used components, including yassortmentsof needles in many lengths and gauges, separately bottled liquidmedications in solutions, extra glass and metal syringes and plungers iseliminated. Substantial work time savings on part of auxiliary personnelotherwise required to clean, sterilize, assemble, load and othermaintenance labor required in the use of currently employed types ofequipment. Free, easy and more positive movement of the slidableresilient plunger head within the cylindrical bar-rel facilitates moreaccurate pinpoint position of the needle bevel than any heretoforeavailable hypodermic Syringes.

An alternative form of sealing and releasing means for the liquidmedication pre-loaded in the barrel 21 of this syringe is illustrated inFIGURES 7 and 14. This modification of the invention comprises avertically movable gate valve indicated generally by the numeral 65.

In all other respects, including the snap-off thumb ring 45, palm rest46, plunger operating shaft 22, plunger piston head 36, solutioncontainer cylinder barrel 21, dual function two-part needle sheaths 26and 27, hypodermic needle 30, and other operating components are thesame as the rst described form.

Gate valve 65 is substituted for membrane seal 35.

In the alternative form illustrated in FIGURES 7, 8, and 9, the needlebase is molded or formed integrally with the cylindrical barrel ratherthan slidable thereon as in the first described form. A transverserectangular slot 64 extends through the discharge end portion of thecylindrical fluid container barrel 21 (slot 64 extends vertically asviewed in FIGURES 7 and 9) a gate type valve 65 is slidably fitted forup and down movement in vertical slit 64. The valve is preferably ofresilient compressible material adapted to expand tightly against thewalls of slot 64 and effect a seal to close the bore 25 formed in end ofcylindrical fluid container 21 which extends longitudinally through theneedle base to needle 30.

Gate valve 65 has transverse aperture 67.

When valve 65 is in raised position, as in FIGURE 7, aperture 67 is outof alignment with bore 25 and the uid is sealed Within cylindricalbarrel 21. The valve 65 may have an outwardly flanged shoulder at itsupper outer end to accommodate a conventional horeshoe shaped removablekey 66. In FIGURE 8, a plan view, key 66 is shown in exploded disengagedposition. It may be moved in direction of the arrow to engage under sideof iianged top of valve 65.

When the operator desires to condition the syringe for use he merelyremoves key 66 and pushes slidable gate valve downwardly to alignaperture 67 with bore 25 to position shown in FIGURE 9.

FIGURES l0, ll, and 12 illustrate another form of controlling gate valve65. Here slot 64 has slightly convex walls. The side edges of the valveare serrated at to aid position maintenance. This provides a tight seal.

FIGURES 13 and 14 illustrate another modification. The compressibleresilient slidable valve 65 is round in cross-section but otherwise theoperation is identical With the form illustrated in FIGURES 7, 8, and 9.

The manufacture and sale of the disposable syringe disclosed hereinwithout pre-loading is contemplated. It is apparent that the novelfeatures of this structure may be utilized for injecting liquidmedication contained in separate glass, rubber stopped bottles.

It is particularly contemplated that the dual or multisheath arrangementwhich is a part of this invention may be used separately and apart fromthe syringe disclosed herein. Separate sterilized containers for thenovel sheath arrangement which provides a long and short needle effectmay be produced independently of the other features of this invention.

It is to be understood that this invention is not to be limited to thespecific constructions and arrangements shown and described by way ofexample, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that manychanges may be made without departing from the principles of theinvention. The use of other materials is contemplated as are shapes andrelative sizes of the Various components.

I claim:

1. A disposable pre-loaded hypodermic injection syringe comprising acontainer portion adapted to receive and retain the iluid to beinjected, said container being open at one end, a resilient piston headdisposed interiorly of said container and reciprocal therein, meanscomprising a plunger rod connected to said piston head for selectivelyreciprocating said piston head to inject said fluid, means cooperatingwith said reciprocal plunger rod to seal said open end, membrane sealingclosure means in the opposite end of the container to seal the uidwithin the container, a needle base slidably mounted on said containeradjacent the sealing membrane and adapted to rupture said membrane topermit release of the iluid, breakaway means to maintain said slidableneedle base immobile on the container away from the sealing membrane, ahollow hypodermic needle iixedly mounted in the outer end of saidslidable needle base arranged to receive the fluid from the containerwhen the membrane has been ruptured upon inward movement of the needlebase, a hub formed on an outwardly projecting end of said needle base, asheath member mounted on said hub by a frictional t and arranged toenclose an inner portion of said needle, a second hub formed on anoutwardly projecting end of said sheath member, a second sheath membermounted on said second hub by a frictional fit and arranged to enclosethe outer portion of said needle, said second sheath member being closedat its outer end, stop to prevent withdrawal of the piston head from thecontainer.

2. A disposable hypodermic syringe, as described in claim 1, including athumb ring formed at the outer end of the plunger, a palm rest formed onthe outer end of said plunger inwardly of said thumb ring and an easilyfracturable connecting member adapted to join said thumb Vring and palmrest and to be broken away when desired.

3. A disposable preloaded hypodermic injection syringe, as described inclaim 2, wherein the outer end of the palm rest is recessed and theportion of the fracturable connecting member which joins the thumb ringto the palm rest and plunger is xed to the bottom of said recess.

4. A disposable preloaded hypodermic syringe, as described in claim 1,wherein the needle base is formed integrally with the uid container, alongitudinal bore extending from the fluid container to the needle, andmeans for maintaining the fluid within the container comprises, atransverse-slidable gate valve having an aperture extending through saidvalve, a slot formed in said needle base in which said gate valve isslidably mounted, said gate valve being adapted to be maintained in -aposition wherein the longitudinal bore is blocked and the uid sealedwithin the container and slidable into a position wherein the apertureof the valve is in alignment with the bore of the container to permitejection of the uid therethrough from the container to the needle.

5. A disposable preloaded hypodermic syringe, as described in claim 4,wherein the transversely slidable gate valve may be maintained insealing position with its aperture out of alignment with the alignmentwith the longitudinal bore of the Huid container by a removableretaining key.

6. A disposable preloaded hypodermic syringe, as described in claim 4,having a transversely extending slot formed therein, a slidable gatevalve closure of resilient compressible material adapted for africtional leak-proof sliding iit within said slot in a manner wherebythe aperture of the gate valve and bore of the container may bemaintained out of respective alignment to seal the iluid within thecontainer, and aligned to permit ejection of the fluid from thecontainer.

7. A disposable hypodermic syringe comprising a cylindrical containerportion which is flanged radially outwardly on one end to form a fingerrest groove, a piston head reciprocal therein, a plunger rod disposed atone end of said container and connected to said piston head, a breakawayfracturable thumb ring joined to the other end of said plunger shaft, aneedle base operatively mounted at the other end of said containerportion, a hypodermic needle -fixed in said needle base, multi-sectionalseparable sheath means adapted to enclose the entire exposed portion ofsaid needle or only portions thereof as desired, wherein the multipleneedle sheath enclosure means includes a hub of lesser diameter than theneedle base projecting outward therefrom surrounding and parallel to theneedle, an open ended sheath removably mounted in a frictional fittingmanner on said hub, said open ended sheath of a length to enclose onlyan inner portion of said needle, a hub of lesser diameter than the openended sheath projecting outwardly therefrom surrounding and parallel tothe needle, a second sheath removably mounted in a frictional fittingmanner on the hub of said open ended sheath and of a length to enclosethe remaining outer length of the needle, said second sheath beingclosed at its outer end, all of said sheaths being concentricallylocated around the cannula, with the interior sheaths having an aperturein the forward end through which the needle extends.

8. A disposable hypodermic syringe comprising a cylindrical containerportion which is anged radially outwardly on one end to form a fingerrest groove, a piston head reciprocal therein, a plunger rod disposed atone end of said container and connected to said piston head,

a breakway fracturable thumb ring joined to the other end of saidplunger shaft, a needle base operatively mounted at the other end ofsaid container portion, a hypodermic needle fixed in said needle base,multi-sectional separable sheath means adapted to enclose the entireexposed portion of said needle or only portions thereof as desiredwherein the multi-sectional separable sheath means comprises a pluralityof frictionally connected needle enclosure sheaths each shorter than theentire length of the needle and arranged to surround the needle, sheathsection being independently separable from the other in a manner topermit exposure of various lengths of the needle as desired, all of saidsheaths being concentrically located around the cannula, with theinterior sheaths having an aperture in the forward end through which theneedle extends.

9. A disposable hypodermic needle and protective enclosure assembly foruse with a hypodermic syringe comprising a disposable base in which theneedle is xedly mounted, a plurality of disposable needle surroundingopen ended protective sheaths of predetermined lengths, said open endedsheaths being slidably removably connected in series with each other,the innermost sheath being removably connected with the needle base, andan outer closed end sheath removably connected with the outermost openended sheath, all of said sheaths being concentrically located aroundthe cannula, with the interior sheaths having an aperture in the forwardend through which the needle extends.

10. A disposable hypodermic needle and protective enclosure assembly foruse with a hypodermic syringe comprising a disposable base in which theneedle is mounted, and a disposable needle enclosing protectivemulti-sectional sheath, means to maintain each section of said sheath inconnected relationship with its adjacent section in a manner to enclosethe needle throughout its length, said connection maintaining meansbeing adapted to permit easy disconnection of one section of said sheathfrom another section and from enclosing relationship with the needle anda breakaway thumb ring adapted to operate said needle for aspirationprocedures and`t'o be easily broken away for injection procedures, eachsheath section being of predetermined lesser length than the needle, allof said sheaths being concentrically located around the cannula, withthe interior sheaths having an aperture in the forward end through whichthe needle extends.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,589,046 6/1926 Brix 128--2182,828,743 4/1958 Ashkenaz l28,-2l8.1 3,118,447 1/1964 Hunt 128-2183,143,109 8/1964 Gewertz 128-215 FOREIGN PATENTS 776,968 10/1933 France.1,169,935 9/1958 France.

507,003 6/ 1939 Great Britain.

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner.

D. L. BAKER, Assistant Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3,380,450 April 30, 1968 William H. Adelberger It s hereby certifiedthatl error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correctionand that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

In the drawings, Sheet l, Fig. l, change the numeral "65" to 59 andextend a lead line therefrom to the projectile-shaped inner portion ofbase 23 that extends within the hub 61. Column 2, line 32 "Figure 5"should read Figure 1 Column 4 line 60 "member 65" should read member 59line 70, "inner end of member 65" should read inner end of member 59Column 5, line 9, "from the hub 61" should read from the hub S5 Signedand sealed this 4th day of November 1969.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.PLETCHER,JR. WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR.

Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

